The 2020 California Spring Trials take place in late March, but it’s not too early to learn more about some of the new products that will be on display, including a range of new petunias, calibrachoa, and hot-weather annuals.
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Petunia ‘Surfinia Purple Heart’ (Suntory Flowers)
Novelty petunia ‘Surfinia Heartbeat’ now has a companion, ‘Surfinia Purple Heart.’ Each white flower features a pattern of five purple hearts. Also new for 2021 is an improvement to Heartbeat, with fuller plant habit and more stable heart pattern.
This spreading petunia is uniform with matched plant habits and flower timing. Plants are free-flowering with masses of color for high impact at retail and long-lasting garden displays.
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Salvia ‘Salgoon Strawberry Lake’ (HilverdaFlorist)
HilverdaFlorist introduces a unique red salvia in the Salgoon Series. ‘Strawberry Lake’ is a vigorous plant with great foliage and many vibrant flowers. The strong red, with a magenta touch, calyxes retain their color, and it keeps on growing without pruning stems. Strawberry Lake is the perfect colorful addition for the Salgoon Series. This series is based on the same strong genetics, grows uniform, and has a heavy bloom set.
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Salvia ‘Pink Pong’ (Jaldety)
This Salvia microphylla hybrid is flowering with an abundance of eye-catching, raspberry-pink large flowers with dark calyxes on darker stems. Drought tolerant once established, it is easy to care for, deer tolerant, and attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.
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Petunia ‘Trilogy Pink Lips’ (American Takii)
Petunia ‘Trilogy Pink Lips’ is a sweet addition to the Trilogy series. It has the same tidy growth habit as the rest of the series, and a better mounding habit that other pink petunias on the market. Flowers are bubble-gum pink with rounded petals.
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Petunia ‘Headliner Electric Purple Sky’ (Selecta One)
Headliner is quickly becoming growers’ first choice. This medium-vigor, mounded petunia series boasts early flowering for fast finish and a dramatic color range. New for spring 2021 are additions to the Sky family: ‘Crystal Sky’ has more stability than Night Sky in a light lavender hue, and ‘Electric Purple Sky’ (pictured) catches the eye with vibrant color and a popular sky pattern.
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Petunia ‘Easy Wave Rose Fusion’ (Wave Petunias)
Always a standout in the petunia market, the Easy Wave series lets you bring in a wide array of decorator colors, like new ‘Rose Fusion.’ The mid-rose-colored blooms have a deep rose veins. Its nine-hour short-day flowering requirement creates early-season opportunities.
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Petunia ‘Crazytunia Peach Bellini’ (Westhoff)
Another breakthrough for Westhoff breeding, this unique combination of red, rose, and yellow morphs throughout the season with hints of orange and freckles of color. It is perfect for hanging baskets and a true standout in combinations.
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Petunia ‘Bee’s Knees’ (Ball FloraPlant)
‘Bee’s Knees’ brings the most intense yellow petunia to the market and blooms into a lush, flower-filled plant with no fading. It puts on a high-impact show all season long with very little maintenance.
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Petunia ‘SuperCal Royal Red’ (Sakata Ornamentals)
SuperCal brings two new colors: Rose and Royal Red. These all-weather performers stand up to rain and shine, heat, and cold spring through frost. With rapid rain recovery, SuperCal bounces back for impressive color and performance in containers and landscapes.
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Foliage Celosia Sol Collection (PanAmerican Seed)
Foliage celosia brings color and texture to containers and gardens. The Sol Collection launches with two varieties that produce relatively fast, with no downy mildew issues. Both hold well at retail and expand the options for consumers looking for sun-loving accent plants.
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Calibrachoa ‘Cha-Cha Diva Hot Pink’ (Ball FloraPlant)
Cha-Cha is a new series that is 25% more vigorous than Cabaret, with large, cascading blooms. It’s easy to grow and very uniform in production, with an early flowering time. Perfect for all pots, it features vibrant colors, including two chameleon types.
An exciting new color and pattern for the Calitastic line of calibrachoa, three rings of color start lavender and transition to a deep violet with a mini-star eye. It features a great mounding habit and heavy flowering.
Check out the slideshow above for a closer look at some of these new introductions. Follow GreenhouseGrower.com for more updates on what you can expect from the 2020 California Spring Trials.
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225New Petunias, Calibrachoa, and Hot-Weather Annuals You Can Find at CAST This Year
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Brian Sparks is senior editor of Greenhouse Grower and editor of Greenhouse Grower Technology. See all author stories here.
March 12, 2020 
